Has to be one of my favorite parks in the US. The fact you can go caving by yourself is great. You just need to check in at the visitor center and get the voucher to hang in the car window. You will need a good torch and a backup and a backup backup. The lava tubes are great to explore, but are very dark and you need good shoes. We did a lot of them, but Blue Grotto and Skull Cave were my favorites, though Valentine cave was also good. This is a great day out playing in the dark. Its also worth doing Schonchin Butte Lookout as the views are fantastic. You need to look at the pictures carefully to get an idea of the scale of these caves.

It’s a wonderland with all of the interesting caves and landscapes. First of all, pack the flashlights or headlights, you may need them if you want to explore some more caves. If not, doesn’t matter, only go to mushpot cave, which has the light. Secondly, the drive I recommend to take California 161 from US-97, you can see lower Klamath lake wild animal refuge area. It’s beautiful. And the drive is very far and don’t drive too crazily fast, take time to see the views. The Lava Bed monument has incredibly nice staff there. Super friendly and gives you the right information.

This is a fantastic place to visit, and well worth a detour. Make sure to check in at the Visitor Center first to get a pass (they need to check if you e visited other caves to keep from contaminating them). We visited on a weekday in July and the park was super quiet. There’s a loop of caves you can drive that starts by the visitor center. Be aware that they close any cave when bats are present, so ask the rangers what’s open. I’d recommend also visiting some of the caves off the main loop, like Skull and Valentines caves. There was nobody in them at all when we were there. Bring flashlights, and a helmet is a good idea for those caves with lower ceilings. Finally, a big call out to how helpful the rangers were!

It was a great place to explore..if you going late in the evening get your own light.. they stop giving light hour before 5.. there are lot of caves to caves to explore… easily you could spend a day there. Pack your lunch and spend the day it will be worth… the landscape was beautiful too.. if you are in that area stop by the nearby National wildlife refuges.. you could see birds, coyotes and deers..

Lava Beds National Monument is a fantastic stop on any trip that takes you through this area or even worth the detour. All the rangers we talked to were very informative and helpful. There are a lot of signs and the map provided at the entrance is a helpful guide when deciding which caves you want to visit. We did not use helmets, nor did we have knee pads so we avoided the harder caves that required crawling but the guide helps you navigate these things. We visited sunshine and skull caves and both were easy to do without helmets but you definitely need flashlights for these. They provide flashlights at the visitor center. I think you can also get helmets there as well. It's $25 for a passenger vehicle to enter the park so if you plan on hitting multiple national parks in the next year I would definitely get the annual America the Beautiful pass for $80.

This is a must see! The visitors center is your first starting point, as you must get permitted to enter the caves for the protection of bats. There are beautiful hikes, and amazing caves to explore on your own. I went in November and the weather was perfect to hike and explore. Be prepared to explore the caves and read information about the park on the national parks page. They do sell some gear I the center if need be.

While driving home from a vacation in Nevada, I was looking for things to do along the road. This came up on my phone as a national park. We thought well what the hell? Let's check it out. We were so surprised and so happy that we found this place. We drive past it at least once a year, and I've never stopped. We went in several caves, and the people at the information center were amazing. This will definitely be a stop that we make along the way from now on. There's so much to see that we didn't even get to do a portion of it. I can't believe this place isn't well, more well known! We went in the winter so there was no guided tours but you really didn't need them they give you a map you drive around to the caves it tells you the different levels of intricacy in them really truly just a great experience!

Wow. Caving is fun. If you stay in the maintained caves it is as safe as could be. If you want adventure and danger finding the other 1000 caves is fun. The lava caves have a lot of interesting and easy to recognize features. I recommend buying the $8 cave guide. Head and knee protection are highly recommended for any but the easy caves. Don't be afraid it's a thrilling adventure you don't want to miss out on. I spent a whole week here. Without ever going more than a minute drive from the campground i never even came close to running out of things to do. In fact i will go back for more.

I really loved this place. So much to explore in ways that aren't usual for a national park. And the sudden change from farmland to lava beds is startlingly fast. The rangers at the visitor center are especially helpful for both advice on what to explore and what to bring with you. It's a really good idea to bring your own bike helmet and what lights you can, you'll need two on each of you and remember that your cell phone can count as a backup. But it's also good to have a backpack and a head lamp to leave your hands free for the difficult parts of the paths. But if you forget everything the Visitor Center can supply you. And the darkness in the stone is pretty breathtaking. We also managed to lock our keys on the car, and the law enforcement rangers were good enough and kind enough to break gently into it car and get us back on our way. I'm really grateful they could help.

Best place to go. Not only historical value but Mother Nature too. Limit food and drink they have just snacks. Lots of history to read about and plenty to take home when your done They give you a map of the immediate caves and some are closed because of bats. They have equipment for sale but just in case bring a helmet and a good flash light. Maybe even two lights you never know and getting stuck in one of these caves would suck. Lava rock is sharp and will slice you up if you fall.

Such a fun national monument! Over ten different caves to explore at all difficulty levels. Gloves and helmet are required for the difficult ones by me. Knee pads would be nice. They sell helmets for like 9 bucks at the visitor center.

Awesome place to visit. We went in January with a nice layer of snow o.n the ground. Cave loop rd was walk in only so we skipped it and went to a few caves farther down. Had a run in with the rangers as we got there after the visitor center closed. They were waiting for us in the parking lot when we returned to our car. Make sure you register with the park to get a permit to go inside the caves. The ranger noticed my mmj and proceeded to confiscate it. Just doing his job, and no ticket, but just remember this is a national Monument and even in a rec state with a medical card, the feds don't care. But this place is very cool. I will probably go back sometime. Beware of rattlesnakes they told us.

As with many of our American National Parks, the Lava Beds NM is no exception. Breathtaking Lava Beds during the drive to the Visitor center, with many side turns to experience Ice Caves, Overlooks, paved & easy access. We were very pleased to visit and experience the potential of our earth's Volcanic power.

This place is very much in the middle of a lot of open countryside. A very nice visitor centre provides information about the area and here you can book your drive to discover the caves with different level of experience and expertise required. But even if you don't want to go underground, the area is just beautiful. Follow our adventures @SLYSTRX

I had the best time here! I only got through about five caves including skull cave and sentinel but i had the best time! i love that you don’t need a guided tour, it feels much more personal like this. i went with my parents and kid sister, and we all made it through just fine. ducking wasn’t fun, but it was no big deal. i love the yellow bacteria that grows in some of the caves! it looks so cool when the water beads up on it. skull cave was super cool! i love that they still have some skulls on display there. the trails were super easy to walk. i would definitely go back!

First time here and it was awesome. There's so many caves to explore and the sunset was beautiful. You can see every star in the sky at night from the campground.

Excellent volcanic landscape, above and below ground. Lava Tubes, Cinder Cones, Volcanic Craters, Lava Flows and more. Recommend Mushpot, Skull, and especially Symbol Bridge (ancient pictographs) for Lava Tubes. Check out Mammoth Crater, Hidden Valley, Black Crater, Fleener Chimneys and more above ground.

Lots of caves to explore. The visitor center has your caving pass, and flash lights. Choose short or long. Each one is different. Campground is very nice. I’m saw a deer when eating lunch.

Natural caves are amazing natural wonders to behold. Be adventurous and go see and support this national monument but be prepared with headlamps, warm clothing and knee pads (if you're going to do more challenging caves).

This is such a cool and fun place !! You would never know there are so many caves. Bring really sturdy shoes for inside the caves. Bring heavy duty flashlights. They let you use theirs until about 4 pm but not always the most powerful lights. If you want to buy them there they are pretty expensive $40.

The Lava Beds National Monument is very impressive to explore. Take your flash light and visit the different caves by your own. WATCH YOUR HEAD. You will see a lot of interesting spots. The caves are not that big like Carlsbad Caverns but worth while to visit. I love this place and will return one day.

A super fun national monument! The Ranger at the visitor center was more than welcoming and helped us choose a couple hikes/caves based on our time available. He even lent us a couple flashlights for our journey. The caves are (obviously) super dark so be sure to bring/get a flashlight/headlamp and wear good shoes, it was be very uneven, wet, and rocky.

The lava beds were pretty much the same as everywhere. It's beautiful, the petroglyphs were probably the most interesting. We didn't find huge caves, would like to have gone on a cave tour.

A hidden gem of a park. Huge amounts of lava tubes, very open and informal access. Very pleased to see how helpful the guides were. Flashlights are available for checkout at no fee from the visitors center.

Go here. Bring the kids but leave the dog at home. Camping was 10$ per night per spot! What a deal! We went on a free weekend! Beautiful caves, bring a warm jacket even if it’s hot out. Visited September 2022! There will be deer and quail around your campsite, pretty neat!

A fun experience for the family. Lots of closed caves but plenty to explore still. Wish we had more time to play here. Boys earned jr ranger badges. Nice visitors center just wish there was more of a sticker collection available. Clean bathrooms. Water available to fill your bottles. We went through the sentinel cave upper entrance to lower than back up again. Wearing shorts it feels so nice when you get to the lower section. Don’t forget flashlights and comfy shoes.

National Park where you can go spelunking. Very cool place. Lots of lava tube caves to explore, that's really the main thing to do here by far. Only one cave is lit for you, it is a short walk from the visitor center. The rest of the lava tube caves you need to bring your own light source. But you can easily visit and explore a lot of caves in one day, probably not all of them, but a lot. They have a guide pamphlet that categorizes the cave difficulty into easy, medium, and hard; kind of like ski runs. The harder caves to explore have much tighter spaces you have to crawl through, the easier caves are walking and crouching. If you go, bring flashlights/lanterns, knee pads, gloves (some of the rocks are rough and can cut skin if your not careful), long sleeves even in the summer, and helmets.

Lots of fun but don't forget your flashlight. ☺️ There are caves for everyone to explore. Very sad about the forest fire. Can't wait to come back and see how much it has grown.

Love that I have kids that like to explore the depths of the earth! Visited the Beds twice this year. May and October. Weather was as good as it gets. Slightly overcast but perfect temp.